Sanmugam Appacuddy Tharmalingam (; born 23 March 1908, date of death unknown) was a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, form the plurality in the Eastern Province a ...

physician, politician and

Mayor of Jaffna The Mayor of Jaffna is the head of the Jaffna Municipal Council, the local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. The seat is currently vacant. Mayors and chairmen Notes References * Sources * {{List of mayors in Sri ...

Early life and family

Tharmalingam was born on 23 March 1908. He was the son of Sanmugam Appacuddy. Tharmalingam was educated at St. John's College, Jaffna and St. Patrick's College, Jaffna. Tharmalingam married Sundaravalli, daughter of Saravanamuthu from Kaddudai, in 1941. They had four daughters - Tharmambal, Tharmavalli, Tharmasothy and Tharmarani. Tharmalingam was the paternal uncle of

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

MP V. Yogeswaran.

Career

After qualifying as a doctor in 1933 Tharmalingam worked as a Government Medical Officer in Anagoda, Kolonne,

Kurunegala Kurunegala (, ; , ) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th ...

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district ** Mannar Bridge, a bridge conne ...

Mullaitivu Mullaitivu (; ) is the main town of Mullaitivu District, situated on the north-eastern coast of Northern Province, Sri Lanka. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early twentieth century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing ...

and

Rakwana Rakwana is a town in the Ratnapura District, Sabaragamuwa Province of Sri Lanka, a notable centre of Ceylon tea plantations and industry. Additionally, Rakwana is said to have gem resources.Rakwana is locally administered by Godakawela Pradeshiya ...

. He became private practitioner after retiring from government service in 1950/51. Tharmalingam was one of the founding members of the

Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK; ; , ) is a Sri Lankan political party which represents the Sri Lankan Tamil minority in the country. It was originally founded in 1949 as a breakaway faction of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC). In 1972, ITA ...

(Federal Party) and later

Tamil United Liberation Front The Tamil United Liberation Front (, ) is a political party in Sri Lanka. Formation On 4 May 1972, several Tamil political groups, including the Federal Party (ITAK), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), and All Ceylon Tamil Congress formed the Tami ...

(TULF). Tharmalingam was elected to

Jaffna Municipal Council Jaffna Municipal Council (; JMC) is the Local government in Sri Lanka, local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. JMC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, l ...

, serving as the city's mayor between 1962 and 1963. In 1982 several members of TULF, including Tharmalingam, who opposed the party's decision to support the government's proposals for District Development Councils left TULF formed a

ginger group The Ginger Group was not a formal political party in Canada, but a faction of radical Progressive and Labour Members of Parliament who advocated socialism. The term ginger group also refers to a small group with new, radical ideas trying to ...

called Tamil Eelam Liberation Front (TELF). Tharmalingam was president of TELF whilst Kovai Mahesan, former editor of the ''Suthanthiran'', was its secretary. In June 1983 several cities in Sri Lanka witnessed violence against Tamils. On 30 June 1983 Tharmalingam and Mahesan sent telegrams to several foreign embassies in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

complaining of violence against Tamils in

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

and foreign intervention "to stop genocide of Tamils". The following day TELF staged a

hartal Hartal () is a term in many Languages of India, Indian languages for a strike action that was first used during the Indian independence movement (also known as the nationalist movement) of the early 20th century. A hartal is a mass protest, often ...

against the violence in Trincomalee. Following a train bombing Tharmalingam and Mahesan were arrested and detained in Jaffna using emergency regulations and taken to Colombo. Tharmalingam was held at the Youthful Offenders Building at

Welikada Prison The Welikada Prison (; also known as the ''Magazine Prison'') is a maximum-security prison and the largest prison in Sri Lanka. It was built in 1841 by the British colonial government under Governor Campbell. The prison covers an area of . It is ...

. On 25 July 1983 the

Black July Black July (; ) was an anti- Tamil pogrom that occurred in Sri Lanka during July 1983. The pogrom was premeditated, and was finally triggered by a deadly ambush on a Sri Lankan Army patrol by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on 23 ...

anti-Tamil riots spread to Welikada's Chapel Ward and around 35 Tamil prisoners were

massacred A massacre is an event of killing people who are not engaged in hostilities or are defenseless. It is generally used to describe a targeted killing of civilians en masse by an armed group or person. The word is a loan of a French term for "b ...

by Sinhalese prisoners, aided and abetted by Sinhalese prison officers. Two days later armed Sinhalese prisoners broke into the Youth Ward and started attacking Tamil prisoners. Tharmalingam survived the massacre and was amongst the survivors airlifted to Batticaloa prison. The prisoners found out that a maximum security prison was being built in

Homagama Homagama is a town in the Colombo District, Sri Lanka, about south-east of Colombo. The Homagama Pradeshiya Sabha consists of the Homagama divisional secretariat and 10 GN division of Padukka DS division. The total Land area is about is of ...

and, fearing a recurrence of the events at Welikada, they resolved to escape. On 27 September 1983 41 Tamil prisoners broke out of prison. Tharmalingam, who was too old to escape, remained behind and was eventually released in November 1983. Tharmalingam migrated to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in 1984.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tharmalingam, S. A. 1908 births Year of death missing Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Alumni of St. Patrick's College, Jaffna English people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi politicians Mayors of Jaffna Sri Lankan prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan medical doctors Tamil politicians Tamil United Liberation Front politicians